Article Posted on : - Nov 25, 2010

SEOUL (AFP): South Korea and the United States will launch a four-day naval exercise involving a US aircraft carrier in the Yellow Sea on Sunday after North Korea's artillery attack on an island there, officials said.

The USS George Washington carrier strike group will join South Korean ships in the drill from November 28 to December 1, US Forces Korea (USFK) said in a statement.

It said the exercise was planned well before the North's "unprovoked artillery attack" Tuesday but it demonstrated the US' "commitment to regional stability through deterrence".

The South's Defence Ministry said the defensive drill is aimed at increasing deterrence against the North.

China has in the past protested strongly at US plans to deploy an aircraft carrier in the Yellow Sea, between the Korean peninsula and the Chinese coast.

South Korea and the United States announced a series of joint naval war games after accusing the North in May of torpedoing a South Korean warship with the loss of 46 lives.

But one major drill in late July was relocated from the Yellow Sea to the Sea of Japan (East Sea) in apparent deference to Chinese protests.

USFK spokesmen could not immediately be reached, but one official quoted by Yonhap news agency said China has been informed of the upcoming exercise.

In Washington, the White House said President Barack Obama and his South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-Bak agreed to conduct "enhanced training" and hold joint military exercises in the coming days.

It said the agreement was reached in a telephone call Tuesday, US time.

The leaders agreed to the war games "in the days ahead to continue the close security cooperation between our two countries, and to underscore the strength of our alliance and commitment to peace and security in the region," the White House said in a statement.

Obama assured Lee that the United States "stands shoulder to shoulder" with its ally after the artillery barrage Tuesday which killed two South Korean marines.